Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Galette

Galettes are free-form tarts that are typically filled with fresh fruit, but the fillings aren’t limited to fruit and you can get creative to make some very delicious combinations in this style of rustic tart. My Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Galette does use fresh blueberries, pairing them with a layer of lemony cream cheese for a combination that brings two treats into one for a very delicious dessert.

The tart starts with a homemade, all-butter pie crust. I usually make the crust and let it chill while my oven preheats and the cream cheese for my filling comes to room temperature. The cream cheese filling is flavored with fresh lemon zest and spread onto the rolled out pie pastry, then topped with a generous amount of fresh blueberries. You’ll have to leave a border on your pastry so that you can fold the crust up and over the filling before baking. The finished tart delivers jammy blueberries, zesty lemon and tangy cream cheese in every bite, contrasting with a crisp and buttery pastry crust. It is astonishingly good, especially if you’re a blueberry-fan.

One of the wonderful features of this tart – besides the flavor – is that the cream cheese layer creates a barrier between the juicy fruit and the flaky pastry crust. This means that your tart won’t get a soggy bottom, even if you have leftovers that you don’t eat until the next day. If you’ve ever had particularly juicy fruit make your perfect pie crust soggy due to an unexpected leak, you’ll know what a wonderful feature this is! Make sure you bake your crust until it is crisp and golden for best results.

I don’t recommend using frozen blueberries in this tart because frozen berries will give off quite a bit more liquid than fresh berries will and you won’t get quite the same results. If you only have access to frozen berries, toss them in a little cornstarch to give that extra liquid some thickening power or simply wait until blueberries come back into season and you can get your hands on some fresh ones. It really makes a difference here. The tart can be served while it is still slightly warm or at room temperature. I like it just as-is, but a small scoop of vanilla or lemon ice cream would be a nice pairing, too.

Make the crust: Whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender, until mixture resemble very coarse sand and no pieces larger than a large pea remain. Using a fork, stir in ice water until dough almost comes together into a ball. Press dough into a ball with your hands and wrap in plastic.
Chill for at least 30-60 minutes before using.

Make the tart: Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out pie dough into an approximately 10-inch circle on a lightly floured surface and transfer to baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest until well-combined. Spread cream cheese mixture over the pie crust, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border around the edge of the pastry.
Spread blueberries over the cream cheese mixture in an even layer. Fold up the outside edge of the crust over the blueberries, crimping the crust slightly to ensure it holds its shape. Brush the edge of the crust with water or milk and sprinkle coarse sugar over the whole tart.
Bake at 400F for 45-50 minutes, until fruit is bubbling and the crust is deep golden. Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.